Support Us

BE A PARTNER

Hold a Community Fundraiser to benefit WOMANSHELTER We are always looking for individuals/groups to get involved in our cause. Contact our main office to share your ideas on how you can support W/C and its work in the community.

Past events have included spaghetti dinners, Poker Runs, etc. We are open to any ideas….. CALL 413-538-9717

Your help will directly benefit women, men and children affected by domestic violence. There are so many ways to help:

Make a Tax-Deductible Donation

Your gift to Womanshelter/Compañeras will directly benefit women, men and children affected by domestic violence. More than $0.85 of every dollar supports shelter, counseling, advocacy and outreach – services that enable victims and their families to live safely. All gifts are tax-deductible as allowed by law. Giving is easy, simply download, print, and fill out the form below and mail it along with your donation to:

You will receive a written confirmation of your donation through the mail. Thank you for your support!

GIVING CIRCLES

Consider forming a giving circle within your group of friends. Each of you would donate your own money or time to a pooled fund, and then decide together what project to put the money towards and, in doing so, would increase your awareness of and engagement in the issues covered by Womanshelter. Many circles, in addition to donating their money, also contribute their time and skills to support the cause.

Physical Donations

STEP BY STEP PLANNING GUIDE TO ASSIST WITH A DONATION DRIVE FOR WOMANSHELTER

Visit our website at:womanshelter.org to find a list of our current needs or call our main office at 413-538-9717 or email our development person at kblanchard@womahshelter.org. Let us know your plan and how we can help you succeed.

Team Up – Donation drives can be a lot of fun, but they also require certain amount of planning in order to be successful. Gather some friends, co-workers or fellow parishioners you want to be a part of your drive and assign everyone specific tasks. Some of the duties you may want to assign may include:

Team leader to oversee all details and answer any questions

Coordinator to promote and adverstise

Liaison with W/C

Coordinator of donation collection

Coordinator of bringing in the donationsLocations to have the drive – So many places are ideal for a supply drive! Here are some that come to mind:

Your church/temple/mosque/place of worship

Your school/pre-school

Your workplace

Local library

Coffee shops

Children’s stores / boutiques / salons/spas / community play spaces

Your neighborhood association or block

Make it a party – If you are already planning a party, ask guests to bring some supplies as their “admission fee”. You can do it when you are hosting a:

Birthday Party

Cocktail Party

Just because party

Game night

Movie night

Baby shower

Play-date party at your home or community space

Or simply a supply donation party

Is a Matching gift Available – If you are with a company, many are willing and able to make a matching gift of their employee contributions – even when employees are giving items instead of cash. For example, if donating personal care items, see if your company will donate a dollar for every pound of items raised.Set Goals & promote – Determine the amount of donations you want to raise. Encourage people to help you meet or surpass your goals by putting up flyers, sending emails, post it on Facebook, tweet it on Twitter, etc.Sort – As donations are received, take time to run through the donations to look for items that cannot be used. Remember to take pictures of the mounds of supplies before dropping them off.Deliver – Delivering the supplies, too, is a great way to engage others and generate attention for the success of the donation drive. Ideas may include:

Invite donors to assist in the delivery of the donations

Wear school/office t-shirts to promote publicity of donations

Encourage “Next Time”

Be sure to advertise your results to all those who participated and others as well. Let everyone know how successful the drive was in terms of “this time we collected” or “this time we raised…” so people understand there is an on-going need.

Send thank you notes to all who helped make the drive a success

Start planning your next drive!

We are always happy to accept donations of new, unwrapped clothing, toys, toiletries and household items. Please feel free to contact us with questions on what is acceptable and needed.

We offer you the exciting challenge of making a difference to many as a Womanshelter/Compañeras volunteer. As a volunteer you develop and enhance skills in case management, advocacy, listening, fundraising and decision making.

Remember, we all win when we work together to end violence. If you would like more information please contact us.

AMAZON SMILE

Womanshelter/Compañeras is registered at Amazon Smile!

Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible Amazon Smile purchases to our organization

Did you know you can create a fundraiser and raise money through Facebook on behalf of Womanshelter?

Hit the “Fundraiser” button on your Facebook pageRaise money for a non-profit organization Get startedChoose Womanshelter/CompanerasFill out form and follow prompts

EASY…….do it TODAY!

Be Part of the Men’s Initiative

Inspiration for the Men’s Initiative at Womanshelter/Compañeras grew out of requests we received from men exploring ways to contribute time and energy to our organization as well as our belief that men must be involved in the movement to end domestic violence.

Womanshelter/Compañeras advocates prevention through education and community organizing. As a result, the Men’s Initiative will concentrate primarily on educating men and boys in our communities about relationship violence. The Initiative will be effective because it provides an opportunity for men to engage other men through events, printed materials, and presentations. Participants will have creative control of the Initiative and will be able to identify and fill needs in the community. If you are interested in being part of the Men’s Initiative at Womanshelter/Compañeras please contact us for more information.

Services Offered

Womanshelter/Compañeras services are confidential and offered at no cost to victims.

24 Hour hotline 1-877-536-1628

Emergency shelter

Individual Counseling

Support groups in English/Spanish

Medical, financial & housing advocacy

In-court legal advocates

Comprehensive teen services

Child advocacy & programming

Community Education

Information and referrals

Refugee & Immigrant Services

Womanshelter/Compañeras serves women and children throughout western MA, with outreach focused in Holyoke, Chicopee, Ludlow, Springfield, West Springfield, Westfield, Southampton, Monson, Palmer, Ware, South Hadley, Belchertown and Granby. If you are outside this area, we can refer you to help in your area.

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Help Support Us

Your help will directly benefit women and children affected by domestic violence. There are so many ways to help:

About Us

Womanshelter/Compañeras is dedicated to assisting, supporting, and empowering those whose lives are affected by battering and abuse. Founded in 1980 as a grassroots collective, the organization has sheltered more than 2,000 women and children and assisted 30,000 others through community-based support programs.